For the best views of Hong Kong, you’ll have to work for it. Tie your laces and hit the best hiking trail in Hong Kong. The Lion Rock hike in Hong Kong yields the best views of Hong Kong for those that make the effort to climb it. If you’re thinking of hiking in Hong Kong make the Lion Rock hike your priority.
Lion Rock Hike Tips
How To Get To The Start Of The Lion Rock Hike Trail
The Lion Rock hike is one of the easiest hikes to get to via public transportation. Take the MTR to either Diamond Hill MTR Station or Won Tai Sin MTR station (Exit B3). From there you have 2 options to get to the start of the trail: walk an hour to the start of the trail OR take a 10-minute taxi for approx $22-30 HK. It is a 1.6-mile walk from both MTR stations, and the taxi ride is about the same. We opted to take the taxi from Diamond Hill MTR as it was a hot day in Hong Kong and there are so many other things to do in Kowloon that we wanted to do that day.
We just told our taxi driver “Lion Rock Peak” and he brought us right to the start of the trail. The driver should drive up Sha Tin Pass Road and stop at the Lion Pavilion. We were nervous that we wouldn’t be able to find a taxi back to the MTR after we had completed the Lion Rock hike, thankfully we were wrong. We were able to catch a taxi within 5 minutes.
Related Article: Hong Kong Travel Tips
How Long Is The Lion Rock Hike?
Once you reach the start of the trail the hike is 1.8km (1.1 miles) to Lion Rock from the east entrance trailhead (the Sha Tin Pass dot on the above map). The other half of the trail from The peak to the Lion Rock Park dot on the map above is just over 1km. *Note both sides of the trail have similarly named parks “Lion Rock Country Park” on the east, and “Lion Rock Community Garden”.
To make sure you end up in the right place here is the google maps:
You can hike to the peak from either direction, one side is slightly shorter and closer to the MTR. If you hike the full trail the hike is roughly 3km (1.9 miles). The hike will be considerably longer (3.2 miles longer) if you opt to walk to the start of the hike from the MTR station and not take a taxi.
How Long Does The Lion Rock Hike Take?
Most websites estimate the hike will take 5 hours round trip walking from the MTR station. It took us 2.5 hours and that included us going off the trail and flying our drone for 30 minutes and a decent amount of time at the top of Lion Rock taking pictures from the best view of Hong Kong. The hike can easily be done from the start of the trail in under 2 hours if you are an athletic person but if you like to take it easy we’d estimate 3 hours. It’s worth making time in your Hong Kong itinerary for trust us.
Is The Lion Rock Hike In Hong Kong hard?
We saw people of all ages on the trail to Lion Rock, even some with canes and a few people carrying their dogs as well. It’s a pretty easy hike, the trail is very well marked and there are several areas to sit and rest for a while. We would suggest wearing tennis/hiking shoes as the trail isn’t all paved, over half of it is dirt/gravel.
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Views From The Top Of Lion Rock
Once you make it to the top of Lion Rock you’ll be rewarded with the best view of Hong Kong. You’ll feel like you are on top of the world up here. Here are a few of some of our favorite pictures of Hong Kong from the Lion Rock hike.
Related Article: Things To Do In Kowloon
When Is The Best Time To Hike In Hong Kong?
The Lion Rock Peak hike in is very popular with people from Hong Kong and can get very busy on the weekends. This hike is best done on a weekday if you want to have the more of the trail to yourself. Also, make sure to check the weather in Hong Kong and tentatively plan a day to do the hike. The weather in Hong Kong can be unpredictable so be flexible with your Hong Kong plans.
Related Article: How To Spend The Perfect 3 Days In Hong Kong
You’ll want to make sure you have a nice clear sky day. Otherwise, the views from the Lion Rock won’t be that great. Several of our days in Hong Kong it was very cloudy and rainy, we would have never gotten these pictures on a cloudy day. One of the Hong Kong travel tips I learned was to always carry an umbrella, you never know when it’s going to rain in Hong Kong.
Try and start the hike early in the morning, preferably before 9 am. The heat won’t be nearly as bad and there are way fewer people on the trail.
Things To Know Before Hiking
Bring enough WATER there aren’t any vendors selling water along the hike. We each brought 1.5 liters of water and it was finished before we finished our hike. If you typically drink a lot of water when hiking then bring more, it’s better to have extra.
Watch out for MONKEYS. There are monkeys along the trail in the trees if you have never had an encounter with a monkey just realize there is no such thing as a nice monkey. Do NOT feed the monkey or try to touch the monkey in any way. We had our first monkey experience in the Ubud Monkey Forest in Bali, where Hannah ended up having monkeys crawling up here and eventually biting her in the thumb…Just keep walking and ignore the monkeys.
Don’t forget to pack the sunscreen. Part of the trail will be shaded but the closer you get to Lion Rock the shad will start to disappear.
Lion Rock Hong Kong Facts
Lion Rock stands at 495 meters above Kowloon and is one of the most recognizable natural landmarks in Hong Kong. The rock sits above one of Hong Kong’s major residential areas. It has even been the name of a song and TV series!
Don’t forget the travel insurance! We personally have used travel insurance with World Nomads. Coverage includes medical, trip cancellation, your belongings from theft or damage, baggage, car rental coverage, and more. They covered us when Hannah got robbed in Kuala Lumpur and when we got in a sand storm in Namibia and it damaged camera gear.
Who knew there was such great hiking in Hong Kong?
Other Great Hikes in Hong Kong Worth Checking Out:
- Dragon’s Back
- Lantau Peak at sunrise
- Peak Circle Walk, winds around the highest point on Hong Kong Island
- Wilson Trail
Best Places To Stay In Hong Kong
We spent half our time in Kowloon hotels and the other half in Hong Kong Island hotels. We recommend the following hotels as we personally stayed there:
- Budget Prices: Central Mini Hotel | Agoda | Booking.com |TripAdvisor Reviews
- Midrange Prices Hotel Jen | Agoda | Booking.com |TripAdvisor Reviews
- Luxury Hotel: Hotel Pottinger | Agoda | Booking.com |TripAdvisor Reviews
- Boutique Hotel: The Luxe Manor | Agoda | Booking.com |TripAdvisor Reviews
Related Article: Hotel Jen Hong Kong
Have you been to Hong Kong and have any Hong Kong hikes to add to the list? We’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment below and we’ll make sure to add them to the list.
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Thanks for the awesome information. I will be in Hong Kong in April for 4 days. If I get in the Lion Hike it will be over a weekend but I will take your advice and get an early start. I’m normally up early anyways so I’m game to get up around 8am. Where else in Hong Kong would you suggest? A friend suggested doing a river cruise on the Li River but i have no idea how to even plan this out. If you have other suggestions for 3 days in Hong Kong I’d love to hear from you. ~David.
If you are an early person you should have an amazing hike at Lion’s Rock. Make sure to check our 3 days in Hong Kong guide https://www.gettingstamped.com/3-days-in-hong-kong-itinerary/ I think this is the info you are looking for. Have a blast in Hong Kong.
Hello,
Heading to hk in dec. will it be safe to hike lion rock during this period?
I’m a first timer and I’m inspired by your post.
Thanks!
You should be able to hike Lion’s Rock any time of the year safely, it is not a dangerous hike, enjoy HK!
Is it possible to hike there alone?
Yes, it is a very easy to follow trail and there will be others on it too. I would not hesitate to hike Lion’s Rock alone.
Hi Hanna and Adam,
I’m going to HK next week and was planning to hike Lion Rock. Would you guys say it’s safe to hike alone?
Thanks!
Hiking Lion Rock alone is totally fine, I wouldn’t go when it’s dark though mainly because the trail wouldn’t be lite. We found Hong Kong overall a safe city, but always trust your gut and keep yourself and your belongs safe. There will be several people hiking Lion Rock at all hours of the day, we suggest he morning to avoid the heat.
hey thanks a lot! i am enjoying your blog. have just started traveling Asia. am taking a trip to Hong Kong and Cambodia in November to celebrate my 30th birthday. this hike is definitely on my HK to-do list. i appreciate the information!! i have dictated it in my travel notes!!! appreciate your post.
That’s awesome to hear, glad we could help and happy early birthday! Lion Rock is awesome make sure to get up there! If you make it to Cambodia make sure to go to Siem Reap and if you do our good friend Sok to show you around https://www.gettingstamped.com/best-tuk-tuk-driver-siem-reap/. Hope you have a great trip!
Hi, As I am preparing to go hike in Lion Peak. I ended up checking your blog. Thanks for the information. By the way, what route did you go is it the east or the west? what route will be the shortest walk? I will be accompanying a not so into walking that is why I prefer the shortest walk to the peak. And how long it would take ascend and descend. Thank you so much again! 🙂
Hi Wendy, we went east to west, but you can take it reverse, for us the transport was just easier that way. You can also just go up and come down the same way, we have done that too from the east. The peak is very close to the center, so if there is a difference between the two it is minor. The hike took us around 1.5 hours to the peak, and about the same to return. Hope that helps, have a great time in HK!
Got inspired to make this hike after seeing this blog post! It was tougher than I expected, but the views were stunning. Had a chance to take a drone up with me on the hike too…looks even more unreal w/ a drone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96bt7oZj5B0
Nice video! I wished we had more non-rainy days would have loved to get the drone up more. Glad you made the hike! Safe Travels!
Hi Hanna and Adam.. I am Rini from Indonesia
tomorrow I will go hike to Lion Rock
has many places in Hong Kong I already visited
lantau Peak, Sunset Peak, Wong Lung Ham Stream, Sharp Peak, Castle Peak, Pyramid Hill, South Heaven Gate Lantau, North Heaven Gate Lantau, Anaconda Trail, Tiger Roar Rock River,Tai Mo Shan,Cheung Chau ect
Hope you had an epic hike. Looks like you saw a lot of Hong Kong and visited some amazing places.
That’s is perfect timing for us as we we fly there tomorrow morning. Really great descriptive post about how to find the trail and how long it will take etc. Your photos are amazing and it looks like a must for while we are there. We are every excited to get there.
No way! How long are you spending in Hong Kong? We were there in September & October for about 2 weeks in total. Let us know if you have any other Hong Kong questions. See you back in Chiang Mai soon. Safe travels.
This trail really looks very tiring. However, it will be worth after seeing the aesthetic view.
This Hong Kong hike was totally worth it. It wasn’t that hard, just make sure to bring enough water. The best view of Hong Kong was worth every drip of sweat.